Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has confirmed that Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins haven’t travelled for our clash with PSG for the UEFA Super Cup.
The Villa squad have made the trip to Salzburg for the showpiece event on Wednesday night, but there was an anxious wait to determine whether or not our key trio would return in time after being given an extended break following the World Cup.
Given their lack of minutes through pre-season, it was always unlikely that they would feature, and it has now been confirmed by the Villa boss, who stressed the importance of giving his star trio the necessary time to rest after their involvement in the USA earlier this summer.
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Having had no playing time for a month, there would inevitably be an injury risk that comes with throwing them back into the action, and so while we still have one pre-season game remaining this weekend against Borussia Monchengladbach, time will tell if they will be ready for our Premier League season opener against Brighton on August 23.
“They are not here – Konsa, Watkins and Martínez because they finished their season on 19th July and I gave them four weeks to rest, it’s completely necessary,” said Emery, as per Villa TV. “They are not here tomorrow.
“Of course, if they were here, maybe we could have more chances. But, at the same time, I think PSG are going to be in the same situation like us.
“But tomorrow we are preparing this game with the players we started, even some young players, four weeks ago. And tomorrow I expect to compete and try to face them with our capacity and our possibilities as well to beat them.
“Of course, they are favourites.”
Footage from the stadium has shown that talented young duo Triston Rowe and Brian Madjo have travelled with the squad having not been named in the initial squad, while George Hemmings and Luka Lynch are also present having been left off that list too as they’ll likely be named on our List B with UEFA.
In turn, it could be another big opportunity for our young players to impress on a bigger stage, but there is certainly still plenty of quality, experience and leadership in the group with the more experienced players leading the way.
It will be a fascinating wait to see what starting line-up Emery goes with though, as we’ll no doubt face a stern challenge in trying to overcome PSG and lift more European silverware.